This article looks at the challenges faced by businesses who sell seasonal products, for example Christmas related products and fireworks, and asks how they can best capitalise their revenues.
Business Challenge
On the face of it, the challenge faced by businesses in niche categories are obvious. The primary obstacle they have is that they have a very small window of months, or even weeks in some cases, to maximise their turnover during the year. Failure to do this can often have disastrous consequences for businesses who are short on revenue opportunities throughout the year. It is this that leads to businesses being a lot more generalised, and dedicating a small area of their business to maximising seasonal opportunities.
For those that are still operating with specific products or in dedicated sectors, how can they adapt their marketing to ensure they remain profitable throughout the year?
Keeping in Touch
If you were to take fireworks as one example, the challenge there is clearly to keep in touch and to keep customers coming back throughout the year, and not just in the weeks before Bonfire Night each and every year.
One way that businesses in these sectors maintain interest is to offer discounts on subsequent purchases. Yes, it reduces the margin of the businesses but it brings in revenues that may not otherwise have been present.
So, having purchased fireworks for Bonfire Night, they can then offer a discount for a New Year purchase, for example, or a reduction on any purchase throughout the next six months. Fireworks are a very specific example – how can other businesses with much less scope for manoeuvre work things in their favour?
Ahead of the Game
If you are a business specialising in Christmas goods then it will probably be a lot more difficult to generate year-round revenues than it would with fireworks, for example. However, with a flexible approach, all is not lost!
In the months immediately after Christmas, businesses can look to sell off any products they may have left over to other businesses in preparation for the year ahead. Businesses should not underestimate how far ahead some people like to plan, either. For every individual who is organising Christmas at the last minute, there are many who are extremely organised and will know what they are going to do in June and July.
Seasonal periods in particular can be extremely competitive, so being a prominent presence in the market early will see you establish a foothold that many competitors will struggle to keep up with.
Operating a year-round business in a seasonal niche market can be difficult, however success is possible with flexible and original thought and planning around all of your business activities.
Fireworks Crazy is a premium fireworks display and ecommerce website. Fireworks for sale are not just for Christmas.